Until Next Time
by Momosportif
Summary: It's bath time for Akamaru! And what better circumstances for a rendezvous for Kiba and Temari? Fluffish KibaTem. Please review and, more importantly, enjoy! I don't own Naruto, obviously...
1. Until Next Time

Until Next Time

"Yip, yip, yip!"

"Mmmm… not now, I'm sleeping…"

"Grrwl… Yip!"

"Hmm…aaah. Okay, okay I _hear_ you, stop." He yawned, stretching.

"Yip-yip!"

"I know I _promised_. Come on now. Get off and let me get dressed."

* * *

"Hmm…" She blinked herself awake from her previously half sleep state to look at the red numbers in front of her. 5:59 they read. She sat up stiffly. _Time to get dressed… I did promise_. Mumbling, she flung herself towards her closet, hating every cold step. 

"Chill out or you'll wake up Shino. He _hates_ being waken up before 6:30 and you know that. He'd _kill_ me if you woke him up." He shivered as they passed Shino's closed door before persuading the back door gently open and stepping out into the golden-blue dawn. "Hmmm," he sniffed, filling his lungs. "What a good smelling morning."

* * *

She tiptoed down the hall, painstakingly careful as she passed Baki sensei's room. She let her held breath go as she reached the back door. She looked at the table, wondering if she should leave a note or not. She decided no, she was probably late already, it would be time wasted. 

"Hey… sister." She whipped around to see a bleary Kankuro at the kitchen door.

"Where ya goin'?" Was he even aware of what he was saying? He had this goofy grin and his purple accented eyes were slits. She was surprised he was standing.

"I'm going out, Kankuro." This was better than a note. "Tell Baki sensei, okay? I'll be back before noon, alright?"

"Out where?"

"On a date, Kankuro."

"A date, huh…" he yawned. "Okay, I'll tell sensei. Have fun."

"You too, Kankuro." Grinning, she slid their back door open and let the bright, damp morning embrace her.

* * *

"Get that corner, will you? Do something helpful and stop bossing me around. You sound like Mom." He cast the white dog a rueful look as Akamaru primly took the said corner of the tarp in his mouth, pulling it taught. "Good." He stood. "Now all we need is the tub." 

"Yip, yip, yip-yip!"

"Oh please. There is _so_ not a difference between the tin tub and the green tub. I mean they're both made of tin, you know that right, they're the same size, and the green one's inside anyways. I'm not going to risk going past Shino's-"

"Whine, yip, whine whine."

"It is _not_ deeper!"

"Whine, whine?" He sighed, glaring down at the large, pleading eyes. "Whine?"

* * *

The walk was pleasant enough. She just wanted to be at her destination desperately. She hadn't gotten a chance to see him, really see him, in weeks. That was too long for her. She sighed at the sun-speckled path as she tried to shorten their distance.

* * *

"Akamaru! Can't you wait? The tub will never fill up if you keep drinking from the hose!" Akamaru pranced over to him, deserting the hose to finish filling the tub. The green tub. "Which shampoo is it you like again?" 

"Yip!"

"I thought so!" He took the shampoo bottle and Akamaru's scrub brush over to the quickly filling tub. "You know… I think it _is _deeper." He scratched his wild hair, bemused.

"Kiba!" He turned towards the gate, canines becoming visible in an excited grin.

"There you are! Glad you could make it!"

"Sorry I'm late."

"You're just in time."

* * *

"So, what can I do?" She leaned over, hands on knees, while he kneeled on the tarp. He smiled again. 

"Do you mind getting wet?"

"How wet?" Kiba was taking off his jacket and tossed it far from the tarp. He whistled, short and high. Akamaru came bounding from the shed with a towel between a grin like Kiba's. He tossed the towel to Kiba and leaped into the tub with a splash. "Wet, wet." He replied.

* * *

Temari ended up in Kiba's jacket because Akamaru soaked her with his first cannon ball. The jacket was warm but cool at the same time. It was also surprisingly smooth against her skin. Kiba turned from an even whiter, sud-soaked Akamaru. 

"Do you want to try?" He was covered in soap himself and his arms were completely sud-gloved up to the elbow. "That's what you came for, right?" To learn how?" She nodded, rolling up her sleeves and kneeling next to him. He smiled and nodded encouragingly. She plunged her arms into the warm, soapy water. Kiba stood. She felt him standing over her as she scrubbed Akamaru's fur. "That's good," she said kneeling directly behind her, arms overlapping hers to guide her hands. "Now you just go like this…"

An hour of splashing, shampoo over-dose, and squealing later, Akamaru was lifted out and dried (more by shaking than by towel). The dog licked them both in thanks and excitement of being clean before running into Kurenai's plant beds to investigate the fauna life smaller than him. They were both slightly panting due to the sheer effort of wrestling with the small dog.

"Heh. You did pretty good for your first time. You did really good actually." He smiled. "You're better than me even."

She tried to focus on the smile instead of his slowly rising and falling chest, covered only by his mesh undershirt. "Hardly," she smirked.

"Well, I should clean up now before I forget, _again_."

"I'll help." They both tried to stand and both tripped on the slick tarp, landing hard in a tangled heap. Kiba raised his head.

"Oh!!! Sorry! Sorry-" he was lying on top of her, his head at a very awkward location on her upper half. He tried to push up, only to have his knees and hands slip, and fell onto her again. He scooted forward desperately, trying to escape their embarrassing position. Their noses touched. He tried to stand again. This time, gentle arms around his waist prevented him from rising. He was painfully aware of his chest pressed to her…. "Temari?"

"Kiba." It was not a question as his had been. It was a statement, as even as her aqua gaze along their noses. He felt her warm breath on his lips and her heart beat pulsing against his own. He turned his head to the side slightly, running his nose down the side of hers. The breaths got faster, closer. Closer, _closer_-

"TEMARI!!!" They both bolted upright, slipping and sliding in an insane attempt to get to their feet. A turquoise glare bored into both of them, an accusing glare set off by narrowed black outlines. " _Temari._" This one was meant to be sinister and guilt inspiring. It was both. Kiba winced. Temari was blushing in fury. "Temari what were you _doing_," his red hair bristled as he jerked his head at the ground, "down _there_," her blond head bristled too, Kiba whispered "sorry" again and a whimpering Akamaru ran up to him and leapt into his arms, "with _him_?" This was why Gaara could be Kazekage. He certainly looked it, arms crossed, looking down his nose at them.

"You don't need to be sorry," she muttered. "Gaara, it's none of you're freaking-"

"Oh, yes it is! Yes it is!" Gaara was leading her away now, grabbing her drying clothes as he stormed off with her. "It's Baki sensei's business too, and I want the-"

"I'M SORRY KIBA!!!" she shouted. Her eyes said _maybe next time._

_Will there be a next time?_

_I have to give you your jacket, don't I? _He smiled.

_Next time then, somewhere safe from little brothers._ The last he saw was her content smile. The last he would see. For now. Until next time.


	2. Next Time

Next Time

She leaned against the compound and took a deep, deep breath.

_Okay… knocking is obviously out of the question_. She held the breath and glanced sideways at the door handle. How many doors had she seen in her lifetime for Kazeka…Hokage's sake…whatever. She hung her head and released the breath, deciding to ignore the fact that she had taken the care to lure sensei out of the compound for two hours and twenty-one minutes exactly, ensure that her brothers were sufficiently preoccupied without the distraction seeming related to her, develop a plausible excuse for not being at home if they wondered, and sneak entirely unnoticed to his compound just to stand in front of the door, hand trembling over the handle, and spaz out about talking to his sensei and his team so badly that she ran and hid in these flower bushes. _What am I going to do... okay, chill out, umm…options._ Her practiced gaze scanned her surroundings, counting entrances, landmark proximity, estimating heights and accessibility to tenths of inches. She clutched the jacket and closed her eyes in concentration. _First option: back door: risks- premature confrontation, locating room… spazzing out again, pluses- straightforward, safer. Second option: windows; risks- finding window without apprehension, accessibility, perceived as, well, a stalker I guess, uninvited company, pluses- less risk of undesired encounters…I guess that's all. Third option_- she sighed, wrung the poor jacket in distress- _run away_. She let her head flop to her knees. "Okay," she muttered, "let's see who sleeps on the ground floor."

* * *

"It's been a loooong time, well, okay, so a week, but, that's seven days, right, so that's…a hundred fifty…"

"Yip! Yip yip yip!"

"thanks, eight, a hundred fifty and eight hours…is that right?…who cares," he rolled over to his stomach and let the pillow share his anguish.

"Whine, yip, yip?"

"Yeah, I guess so…I'm a little worried…" KNOCK KNOCK. "Yeah?" No answer. It had to be Shino. He kicked his legs off the bed and went over. "Whad'ya want?" They stared at each other and then Shino stepped forward. Kiba stepped back. Shino stepped forward. Shut the door. "Uhhh?" Kiba stepped back.

"We need to talk. Sit down."

"Whine." Akamaru walked sideways, keeping Shino in view, and hid behind Kiba's legs. Truthfully, Kiba wanted to hide under the bed too but he risked a response instead.

"'Bout what?" He shivered as Shino's glasses caught the light.

"I got a memo from the Kazekage."

* * *

"Who knew…" Temari was strangely entranced by the scene in Kurenai's room. "He sure knows what he's doing," she though it courteous to turn away at this point and cast her eyes up. "Okay…second floor," her eyes drifted to the tree again. The little, fragile, twig of a tree. _Damn_. Then there was the wooden arbor on the other side. The flower laden, plywood, flimsy arbor. _Damn! _She chewed her lip and hiked her skirt up. _I need to invest in some shorts_. She mounted the arbor in a single leap. It creaked and sagged slightly. _5 seconds tops…4…3…2…_ she jumped for the roof.

* * *

Silence spread between them. The additional red on his cheeks continued to deepen and he squirmed.

"Yeah?"

"So…"

"Yeah?"

"you clearly have feelings for her."

"Uh, well, yes, but…"

"Kiba." Kiba shut his mouth and gulped. "I'm not trying to rat you out. It's not like you're going to do anything irresponsible together. I just wondered if you wanted to…" Shino gulped too, "discuss it or anything."

"Did sensei?-"

"Yes."

"Heh."

"Hm."

"Heh heh heh!"

"Yip yip!"

"Hm hm hm!"

"Ha ha ha!"

They all laughed together for a few minutes and then sat there smiling.

"Sorry, I'm too weak-hearted to listen, Kiba."

"Hey, no worries! I can talk to Hinata, or sensei, or Kankuro, or Akamaru, of course."

"Hmm…by the way, Kiba, you haven't been carrying…" The other boy started and stared at his teammate. "Where's your ja-" THUD! The two boys turned their heads to the roof slowly and then to each other.

"I'm not just…"

"No, I heard it too."

"Wait!" Kiba's eyes widened as he dropped fluidly to all fours and his nose twitched. Shino rolled his eyes behind his glasses.

_Wag your tail now, loll your tongue out._ As if on cue, Kiba opened his mouth slightly and squirmed about, still sniffing.

"Yip! Yip yip yip yip yip!" Kiba squinted and crawled towards his open window.

"Are you sure?" he turned towards the dog and then back to the window forelegs…arms…up on the sill. A canine grin flashed across his upturned face as a nose met his and a startled aqua gaze connected with his slanted pupils. "Temari!" he picked her up around the waist and set her down.

_At least he didn't howl. _Shino remained silent as Temari's head whipped around and she spotted him.

"K-Kiba?"

"It's okay, Shino's not as…protective as Gaara. Oh, hey! You brought my jacket back!" His overwhelmingly pleased grin distracted her from Shino for good.

_I wanted to bring you something else too_. Kiba looked slightly puzzled when she didn't offer the jacket.

_Oh, yeah_…He leaned forward, cupping her face in one hand and finished their interrupted kiss.

_Oh good god_ Shino looked away quickly, focusing more intently on Akamaru (who was stalking a sock) than he ever had in his life.

"Thanks," Kiba whispered against her cheek. They sat down on the windowsill and were quiet for a while, smiling and blushing.

"Temari?" She looked up.

"Would you like me to show you the front door?" Kiba laughed and she blushed and escaped to a careful examination of her feet.

"Yes, please, Shino."

Epilogue: She closed the door quietly behind her and glanced at the clock. Sensei would be back in eighteen minutes. She padded towards the kitchen, not sure whether or not her brothers would be back yet. She was getting orange juice out of the fridge when something caught her eye.

"Aah!" she spun around. "Ga- Gaara?" She squinted. He was sitting stock-still. She took a step forward. "GAARA!" She was right! There _was_ lipstick on his cheek.

"Hey sister," he blinked and smiled. "That date you arranged for me with Sakura went really well."

_How did he know it was me_…He got up and walked out,

"Thanks," he added over his shoulder.

"You're…welcome?" she asked the dark kitchen.


End file.
